Abstract:
After the first official images of the new Harry Potter series were released, the trailer’s composition method, which frequently placed actors in the center of the screen, sparked discussion. This kind of framing makes it easy to cut the horizontal screen into a 9:16 vertical screen clip, but it also makes some viewers worry that the sense of space in the scene will be weakened.
The new version of the series is expected to be launched on Christmas 2026, and it is planned to adapt seven novels created by J.K. Rowling in about ten years. The crew is currently filming at Warner Bros. Leavesden Studios in the UK, and the story will have more space for Hogwarts courses and campus life.
Traditional 16:9 pictures usually make use of the complete horizontal space to enhance dramatic tension through off-center character positions and environmental arrangements. The main characters and key actions in this trailer are mostly concentrated in the center of the horizontal screen, leaving relatively limited content on the left and right sides.
This composition allows the filmmakers to crop the clip into a vertical screen ratio suitable for TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts without re-editing. Observer Anatoly Kapustin once tested it by covering the areas on both sides of the trailer with a 9:16 rectangle, and believed that most of the narrative information was still retained in the center of the screen.
Another discussion surrounding the trailer comes from the tone of the picture. The first clip released in the spring of 2026 was criticized for its overall dark tone. Harry Potter later released a revised trailer titled "The Best is Yet to Come", which increased the brightness of Hogwarts candlelight and enhanced the golden effect of Gryffindor uniforms.
Director of photography Adriano Goldman said that the crew used an Arri Alexa 35 camera to shoot while also complying with British working hour regulations for child actors. Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stott and Arabella Stanton, who play Harry, Ron and Hermione, can only work for one and a half hours per shooting session, and the team needs to complete multiple sets of complex lens settings within a limited time.
Under this shooting rhythm, pre-arranged soft lighting and more concentrated picture composition can improve the efficiency of shooting lines. Whether the new version of the "Harry Potter" series can retain the visual hierarchy of the Hogwarts scenes beyond the needs of multi-platform communication remains to be seen after the feature film is released.
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